People with neurogenic bladder disorders like spinal cord injury, spina bifida or multiple sclerosis, and non-neurogenic bladder disorders like obstruction due to prostate enlargement, urethral strictures or post-operative urinary retention, need to be continuously catheterized to empty their urinary bladders. But such continuous catheterization can lead to problems like urinary tract infections (UTI), urethral strictures or male infertility. Intermittent catheterization at regular intervals avoids such negative effects of continuous long term catheterization. Research has shown that intermittent self-catheterization helps reduce urinary tract infections, control urinary leakage (incontinence) and prevent urinary tract damage.
In our highly mobile culture, the ability to have the freedom to leave home for the day or longer is an important part of life. To accommodate this need, single use intermittent urinary catheters have been developed to allow patients to perform self-catheterization. Many intermittent catheters are designed to be inserted into the bladder while the back end is suspended over a toilet or other waste receptacle. For example, the mPower Cath Hydro hydrophilic intermittent urinary catheter available from Adapta Medical of Colorado Springs, Colo. provides a sterile catheter surrounded by an elongated flexible sheath. The catheter may be extracted from one end of the sheath, which collapses in pleats, for insertion in a urethra of a user. Urine drains through the catheter and flows out an opposite end outlet to be directed into either a toilet or a collection bag. Various aspects of such catheters may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,090,075, 8,177,774 and 8,845,620.
On the other hand, a closed system catheter is a self-contained, sterile, pre-lubricated catheter housed within a collection bag. The collection bag eliminates the need to void the urine into a receptacle or toilet, and since it is self-contained, it eliminates the need to hook up any other kind of bag or container—it is truly portable.
Despite numerous products on the market, there remains a need for a more adaptable intermittent urinary catheter system.